Sometimes in life you choose your jobs and sometimes they are chosen for you. We had talked for some time about changing the “rock wall” and garden area near the driveway and Carl had dug up the area and we had planted some daylilies that Rhonda had given us and some bulbs we wanted to relocate from another part of our yard. He put in a lot of time last fall to prepare the area and we planted them all there. We had recently removed the mulch we had covered them with for the winter and the day lilies looked great and the bulbs were starting to grow. Then a week or so ago our doorbell rang and we learned that a car parked in our neighbors driveway had taken off and landed on the rock wall, stopped mostly by the rebar post that was holding up a sprinkler head. Thanks to our neighbor up the hill the car was able to be moved off the wall and although it is probably totalled they did drive it back across the street. At the least we needed to fix the sprinkler head that was destroyed and fix the wall and garden. So poor Carl was forced into a labor he had not planned on.
Here are some pictures of the accident.
A surprise visitor. Our neighbor’s car traveled on its own across the road to our garden.
Our neighbor checking out the damage and assessing the possibility of moving the car. It is actually on a rebar post that was holding us a sprinkler head.
Our neighbor up the hill just happened to have a back hoe and was willing to come and lift the car off the wall so it could be moved away. The rock wall suffered as did the railroad ties but the day lilies survived.
The first step was to get Andrew and Matthew to give us some counsel on what was the best way to resolve the sprinkler issue. We wanted to have a sprinkler head up on the hill more as the one that was taken out had been watering the hill and the grass and was really wasting a lot in its cycle.
Then we decided to move the day lilies first.
They are now planted in an area up the hill on the first tier from the top above our garden. There is lots of room to clear and expand as they take root and settle in or as we acquire others.
Carl then cleared the area on the bottom tier from our garden to the railroad ties and we bought Potentilla bushes (five yellow and five pink) to put in. Since they bloom all spring, summer and fall and do well in hot dry weather they are perfect for our garden here. Here they are waiting to be planted.
The white buckets are pink and the black ones are yellow.
These are all yellow. In the middle is a section of garden with kale I planted from seed. It is already coming up. Yeah!
Then on Friday, Matthew came over to help Carl dig and prepare the area and set the pipes for the new sprinkler extension. Carl had already dug some of the trench but that morning our computer had a glitch that he had to deal with which delayed him finishing but with Matthew’s help the trench was quickly dug. (Andrew came by mid day and he was able to get our computer up and running again – what would we do without the help of our children – they do so much for us.) Here are some photos of Carl and Matthew working on and in the trenches.
Clearing the trench. Notice all the dirt they have removed.
This is the extension beginning by the driveway at the base where the old sprinkler head was.
The extension that goes behind what was the rock wall – which will be rebuilt in time.
More of the extension behind the wall.
An extension in case we want to add a sprinkler up the hill behind where our bushes are going.
Clearing a space so the extension fits better.
As happened in New York and happens all to often here, they ran into a large rock.
Trying to pry out the rock.
Almost loose.
Matthew moving the rock.
So here is the rock that stalled the digging. You can see it is very large. We could not believe that Matthew lifted it out – he is very strong. It is destined to become part of the rock wall when it is rebuilt.
So that is what is filling all of Carl’s time right now. Today he is moving soil so we can plant our Potentilla bushes and get them going in the ground. We will not cover up the new sprinkler line until we can test it for leaks. The secondary water comes on in a week or so and so sometime after that we will test the line and if it is leak free Carl will fill it in. He plans to use some of the gravel he has dug out along the way under the pipes to give them a secure base. It is a good way to use the gravel which we have lots of. Much like New York there is no shortage of rock here and they tend to grow over time as well. The good news is that mostly of the dirt Carl is digging up is quite good for gardening and plants.
So that is our early spring activity – mostly Carl’s – I just am there to take pictures and lend support.